Day 32 (5/27/22): Only 10 Seconds of Sprinkles

Start:                  Owensboro, KY

End:                    Mammoth Cave National Park, KY

 Mileage:             51 miles

Elevation:           2,362 feet

I’m ecstatic!  When I wasn’t on the bike this week, it seemed we spent all of our time planning on how to avoid the rain.  Somehow, we finished the week not only on schedule but also 15 miles into Sunday’s ride.  More importantly, other than 10 seconds of sprinkles on Wednesday, I remained dry the entire week.  I never thought we’d be so fortunate.  Flexibility and adaptability are critical for crazy endeavors like this.

As a bonus, today’s ride was the easiest since one I had in New Mexico.  Very little crazy climbing, favorable winds, great road conditions and virtually no cars.  And again, Kentucky did not disappoint.  More beautiful farm country and country roads.  I’m still really appreciating it.

One of the cool things in KY is a lot of the farms have painted large quilt squares on their barns.  Someone started this in Ohio a few years back as a way to potentially draw tourists, and it’s just caught on in this part of the country.  In Daviess County (where we stayed the last 2 days), they have enough barns with quilt squares where barn quilt square tours are a real attraction.  What’s especially interesting is all the squares have to be unique to add to the variety of the tours.

I passed an Amish horse and buggy this morning.  I was really excited given I’ve not passed many vehicles since I left California.  Further down the road, I came across a house with a loose dog and another buggy, and all of the kidding about dogs came to a screeching halt.  The gentleman had to get off his buggy and calm his horse who was definitely not wanting any part of the dog.  The poor horse was petrified and uneasy.  As a result, the horse was jostling the entire buggy.  It seemed like this was a regular occurrence given the technique the gentlemen deployed.

Tish and I reconnected at 1 or 2 p.m.  I’m really not sure when as we’ve been in and out of the Eastern and Central time zones several times today (annoying) and headed to Mammoth Cave National Park which is about 45 minutes from the route.  We’re going to do a cave tour tomorrow and then head back to the route on Sunday.  Our campsite is beautiful.  (See the gallery.)

Ran into what turned out to be a group of westbound cyclists later in the day including two guys on recumbent bikes.  Stopped and talked with their leader Philip in Sonora, KY.  I believe it was organized by the Adventure Cycling Association because Philip spoke of leading many of these trips previously.  They’re doing the full TransAmerica Route, although they’ve had some fallout early in their trip.  Of the 15 who started only 10 remain and 2 are out of commission until they find a bike shop to repair some issues with their bikes.  Again, lots of variations. 

The rest day yesterday was great.  Other than ongoing rain evasion planning, we went and saw Top Gun.  We enjoyed it a lot and saw it in a theatre with amazing sound.  Complete escapism.  Who’s Penny?

Another rest day tomorrow, so no blog.  Sunday starts a full week on my own where I’ll spend most of my nights camping or in cyclist hostels. 

What I’m Grateful for Today

I haven’t written much about the people who have inspired me to dig deep and take on the physical challenges—especially as I’ve gotten older.  Today is an ideal time for that reflection.

As some of you know, Tish and I typically do a backpacking trip over Memorial Day weekend on Catalina island.  The trip was organized for 35+ years by my cousin Jean before she passed away a few years ago.  Jean’s husband Clark now runs the trip which we will obviously miss this year.  Jean was incredibly active well into her 70s, competing in (and finishing) marathons and longer runs, hiking and swimming on a daily basis, and continually expanding her horizons with all sorts of classes at the local community college.  She even took a class in baseball later in life because she didn’t feel she knew enough about America’s pastime. 

Jean’s partner in (endurance) crime and my other role model was/is her brother/my cousin Chriss.  Chriss has and continues to live an amazing life.  He still competes in marathons, is likely hiking with a full pack on Catalina as you read this, skis every week in the winter, and flies his plane weekly as well.  He’s summited Denali which really says it all, but he’s also summited Mt. Ranier 40+ times and countless peaks in Europe.  He and I remain marathon partners.  I’ve lost track of the Catalina Marathons we’ve completed together.  He’s not only a cousin and marathon partner, but a true friend.

I didn’t connect with Jean and Chriss until my late 40s which I regret but feel incredibly fortunate that our paths did eventually cross.  I think the best thing I can say about my role models is that I want to be just like them when I grow up.